In 2029, BMW will launch a brand new SUV, based on X5 and thought from the outset for adventure and all-terrain. A first foray into a segment dominated by the Immortal Mercedes G -Class G, with rechargeable and 100 % electric hybrid versions.
The information, confirmed by Automotive News, puts an end to rumors: BMW works on an unprecedented SUV, under the code name G74 and nicknamed “Rugged” internally. What could be translated as “robust”, “solid”. This gives a clue to this future vehicle, and its vocation to be a real all-terrain. Based on the X5, it will not be just a simple muscular version. It will be a full -fledged model, developed from the start to tackle the 4×4 premium adventure market. The Bavarian brand will have been long, but it is now official: it wants its class G. Or his Defender. The project germinated after the Munich teams tested several competing models, including the RI1T Rivian, which would have impressed the engineers. Enough to inspire a vehicle capable of combining BMW refinement with real out -of -bitumen skills.
100 % electric but not only
Originally, the Rugged must have been a pure electric model based on the NEUe Klasse platform of the IX3. But faced with the slowdown in demand for zero emission vehicles, BMW has reviewed its copy. The future adventurer will finally rest on the Clars architecturemore versatile since it provides both a 100 % electric version and a rechargeable hybrid. The most powerful versions could flirt with the 610 hp, level of power expected on the future IX5 M70. While on the Phev side, the power would be between 500 and 550 hp. As for electricity, it will take on the new generation of Gen6 batteries and motors, with a target of 700 km of WLTP autonomy.
A class G in Bavarian sauce
Produced in the American factory of Spartanburg, in South Carolina, Rugged promises to be one of the most imposing BMW SUVs. According to the first info, it would have three rows of seats, a panoramic roof with wide opening and even a seat integrated into the tailgate if the desire had just picked in the middle of nowhere. The cabin will adopt the style and technologies of the Neue Klasse, with a very high-tech penchant. His arrival scheduled in 2029 leaves BMW time to refine what will be his first real consumer adventure SUV. It also gives Mercedes time to modernize its class G, which has had nothing to prove for a long time: its 600,000th copy has just come out of the production lines of Graz in Austria, in early August.
New or old, thermal or electric, the automobile has always vibrated. At the wheel as behind my screen, I speak with as much passion as possible!
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Published on 08/14/2025 at 07:00
